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Daily Record
05-05-2025
- Daily Record
Pub forced to make £75k payout after falsely accusing family of 'dining and dashing'
A Facebook post from bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire, condemned the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr despite them paying in full for their £150 meal. A pub has been forced to make a whopping £75k payout after falsely accusing a family of 'dining and dashing.' Bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire made a Facebook post condemning the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr who had been dining with their adult children. The post went on to claim the group of four ate two £27 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, and drank real ales and lagers. The post included CCTV images and was picked up by the media and used in press reports where they were referred to as 'dine-and-dashers'. It later emerged that the family did pay the bill in full, and a mistake by staff member meant it was not rung through the till, reports the Mirror. At Belfast Crown Court the family, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, sued the pub, saying they had suffered significant embarrassment and reputational damage. The family's barrister Peter Girvan told the court: "These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150. "The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The pub accepted there was "no basis whatsoever" for the allegations and apologised, the court heard. It agreed to pay £75,000 in damages as well as the family's legal costs, as part of a settlement agreement. Reading a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said the McGirr's had been "vindicated". He added they were "very satisfied with the settlement" as compensation for "defamation of their character". A statement issued by the pub in July last year read: "We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal. "There was no dishonesty involved from our staff, it was an honest mistake but we have dismissed the member of staff responsible for the error."
Irish Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Pub ordered to pay Irish family €88,000 after false 'dine and dash' accusations
A UK pub which falsely accused an Irish family of running off and not paying £150 (€176) for their food bill has been ordered by a court to pay £75,000 (€88,000) in damages. A Facebook post from bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire, condemned the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr who had been dining with their adult children. The post claimed the group of four ate two £27 (€32) 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 (€18) Derbyshire gammon steaks, and drank real ales and lagers. The post included CCTV images and was picked up by the media and used in press reports where they were referred to as 'dine-and-dashers'. It later emerged that the family did pay the bill in full, and a mistake by a staff member meant it was not rung through the till. At Belfast Crown Court the family from Co Tyrone sued the pub, saying they had suffered significant embarrassment and reputational damage, Mirror UK reports. The family's barrister Peter Girvan told the court: "These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150 (€176). The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis." The pub accepted there was "no basis whatsoever" for the allegations and apologised, the court heard. It agreed to pay £75,000 (€88,000) in damages as well as the family's legal costs, as part of a settlement agreement. Reading a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said the McGirr's had been "vindicated". He added they were "very satisfied with the settlement" as compensation for "defamation of their character". A statement issued by the pub in July last year read: "We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal. There was no dishonesty involved from our staff, it was an honest mistake but we have dismissed the member of staff responsible for the error."
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Pub forced to pay family £75,000 after false 'dine and dash' accusations
A Facebook post from bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire, condemned the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr despite them paying in full for their £150 meal A pub which falsely accused a family of running off and not paying £150 for their food bill has been ordered by a court to pay £75,000 in damages. A Facebook post from bosses at the Horse and Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire, condemned the behaviour of Peter and Ann McGirr who had been dining with their adult children. The post claimed the group of four ate two £27 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, and drank real ales and lagers. The post included CCTV images and was picked up by the media and used in press reports where they were referred to as 'dine-and-dashers'. It later emerged that the family did pay the bill in full, and a mistake by staff member meant it was not rung through the till. At Belfast Crown Court the family, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, sued the pub, saying they had suffered significant embarrassment and reputational damage. The family's barrister Peter Girvan told the court: "These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150. "The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis." The pub accepted there was "no basis whatsoever" for the allegations and apologised, the court heard. It agreed to pay £75,000 in damages as well as the family's legal costs, as part of a settlement agreement. Reading a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said the McGirr's had been "vindicated". He added they were "very satisfied with the settlement" as compensation for "defamation of their character". A statement issued by the pub in July last year read: "We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal. "There was no dishonesty involved from our staff, it was an honest mistake but we have dismissed the member of staff responsible for the error."
Extra.ie
05-05-2025
- Extra.ie
Irish family wrongly accused of leaving UK pub without paying awarded £75,000 in damages
An Irish family has been awarded £75,000 in damages after a UK pub falsely accused them of leaving without paying a £150 restaurant bill. Peter and Ann McGirr, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, were publicly shamed by the Horse and Jockey pub in Tideswell, Derbyshire, which posted CCTV footage of them online and condemned their alleged 'shocking behaviour' on Facebook. The couple had dined at the pub with their two children, ordering two 10oz ribeye steaks priced at £27 each and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, along with several real ales and lagers. Although they paid the bill in full, a staff member failed to register the transaction on the till, leading the management to mistakenly believe they had not paid. The Horse and Jockey. Pic: Facebook Before the mistake was uncovered, the pub had already shared images of the family online. The allegations were then picked up and repeated in four separate news articles, intensifying the reputational harm. Belfast Crown Court heard that the family suffered 'significant embarrassment and reputational damage' as a result of the accusations. Labelled as 'dine-and-dashers,' they brought a libel case against the pub, arguing that the claims were defamatory and entirely unfounded. Their barrister, Peter Girvan, told the court: 'These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150. The allegations were entirely false.' As part of a settlement, the Horse and Jockey agreed to pay €87,000 (£75,000) in damages and cover the family's legal costs. The court was told that the pub accepted there had been 'no basis whatsoever' for the accusations and issued a formal apology. Speaking outside court, the family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said they felt 'vindicated' by the outcome and were 'very satisfied with the settlement' as compensation for the defamation. The pub had previously attributed the incident to an 'inexperienced member of staff,' claiming the employee had taken payment via card but failed to record it in the till. While insisting it was an honest mistake, the management later confirmed the staff member responsible had been dismissed. In a statement issued in July last year, the pub said: 'We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal. There was no dishonesty involved from our staff – it was an honest mistake.'
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Pub is forced to pay family £75,000 after wrongly accusing them of 'dine and dash' over £150 restaurant bill
A family wrongly accused of leaving a restaurant without paying their £150 bill have been awarded £75,000 in damages. Peter and Ann McGirr were maligned by bosses at the Horse and Jocket in Tideswell who condemned them for their 'shocking behaviour' in a public Facebook post. The couple, with their two children, ate two £27 10oz ribeye steaks with all the trimmings and two £15.25 Derbyshire gammon steaks, washed down with several real ales and lagers. But it later emerged that the group did in fact pay the bill in full, though a member of staff forgot to ring the transaction through the till. This was not before the pub had already uploaded CCTV images of the diners online, with the allegations being repeated in four press reports. Belfast Crown Court heard on Friday that the family, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, had suffered significant embarrassment and reputational damage. Referred to as 'dine-and-dashers', the family sued the pub for libel on the basis of the 'serious and defamatory accusations'. Peter Girvan, the barrister representing the family, told the court: 'These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150. 'The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis.' The pub agreed to pay £75,000 in damages as well as the family's legal costs, as part of a settlement agreement. It accepted there was 'no basis whatsoever' for the allegations and apologised, the court heard. The family's solicitor, Darragh Carney, said they had been 'vindicated', reading a statement on their behalf outside court. He added the group were 'very satisfied with the settlement' by way of compensation for 'defamation of their character'. It comes after the pub last year blamed the error on an 'inexperienced member of staff' who was said to have taken payment via card machine but not printed the bill on the till. A statement issued by the pub in July last year read: 'We want to sincerely apologise to the people involved because we have now learnt that they did in fact pay for their meal. 'There was no dishonesty involved from our staff, it was an honest mistake but we have dismissed the member of staff responsible for the error.'
